FIRST CHRISTOPHER FREEMAN ANNUAL LECTURE at CSSP/JNU, New Delhi

Considering the enormous contributions of Prof. Christopher Freeman (1921 - 2010) to the field of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, we, the Research Scholars at the Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, are glad to inform that we have decided to organize an annual lecture in honour of Prof. Christopher Freeman starting from 2015 onwards. The first Freeman lecture will be held on 31st of July, 2015, Committee hall, School of Social Sciences (One) building at 2:30 pm. The lecture will be delivered by Prof Mammo Muchie. Prof. Muchie is a DST/NRF Research Professor of Innovation Studies at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa; and Senior Research Associate at the TMCD Centre at the University of Oxford, UK. The Thesis Supervisor of Prof. Muchie was Prof. Freeman. This year's theme of lecture is "Chris Freeman's Enduring Contributions to the Economics of Innovation."

About Christopher Freeman

Prof. Christopher Freeman (1921 - 2010), who died on August 16 aged 88, was a pioneer of the research field known as "innovation studies"; he was passionate in his belief that technology and innovation could make the world a better place, and that the "dismal science" of economics could be transformed into "the economics of hope". In 1966 Freeman was invited to set up a Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University, where, working with Geoffrey Oldham, he quickly built up an impressive array of talented researchers. In 1974 Freeman published The Economics of Industrial Innovation, which was to be the definitive textbook on the subject for the next 30 years. Along with colleagues in SPRU and Germany, Freeman founded the journal Research Policy, editing it for the next 30 years and establishing it as the pre-eminent journal in the field. In 1992 he published The Economics of Hope, and in 2001 he and Francisco Louça brought out As Time Goes By, revisiting and revising his ideas on long-term economic change. In 2003, SPRU moved into a new building, which was named the Freeman Centre in his honour. Freeman was awarded the Bernal Prize and the Schumpeter Prize. (The Telegraph, 7th Sep, 2010)